The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Why does a win elude Kerala?

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Tuesday, Nov 23, 2010
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Why does a win elude Kerala?

P.K. Ajith Kumar

KOZHIKODE: Twice within a space of a week, Kerala went into a Ranji Trophy match with just three frontline bowlers, forgetting that you need to take 20 wickets to win.

And twice it paid the penalty; it drew two home matches it should have won by an innings. Especially after the new ball bowlers Prasanth Parameswaran and Sony Cheruvathur bowled their hearts out, making excellent use of the overcast conditions at the picturesque Perinthalmanna Cricket Ground.

They reduced Vidarbha to 21 for four on the opening day as the ball swung and seamed around. But since the duo are human and thus could not have bowled forever, they had to make way for spin – left-arm spin to be precise, for Kerala plays three bowlers of that ilk – and Vidarbha recovered well enough to last the day.

Third seamer

A third seamer would have bowled Vidarbha out of the match. Not that Kerala didn't have a medium-pacer available for selection at Perinthalmanna.

P.U. Anthaf was very much there, but he was left out so that the team could be packed with bits-and-pieces players. And he had taken five wickets in an innings against Punjab in a practice match recently, that too away.

Kerala's team management could argue that it was the depth in the batting that was instrumental in helping the team take a substantial first innings lead against Vidarbha, but the question still remains whether a team wanting to win could afford to play a four-day match with just three frontline bowlers.

If Kerala had a desire to win, it wasn't quite visible at Perinthalmanna. It chose to bat on for too long both times after taking the first innings lead. After ensuring the three points that come with the lead in a drawn match, it should have shown more urgency to score runs and given more time for its bowlers, especially at a time in Kerala when it could rain any moment (against Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala was three wickets away from a win and against Vidarbha, two wickets away).

Better display

Of course this young Kerala side has performed much better than last year, when its entire campaign fetched just one point.

This year it already has nine points from three games, but the truth is it could easily have scored six more from the last two matches and enhanced its chances of taking one of the two qualifying spots from Group ‘B' of Ranji Trophy Plate tournament – only if it hadn't made the same mistakes twice in succession.

Kerala should do well to remember, as it takes a break before the next game, that it is bowlers who win the matches and that you just cannot expect your rivals to do all the work for you. Jammu & Kashmir and Vidarha may have played badly enough to almost lose, but Kerala didn't try enough to win.

And Kerala hasn't won a single Ranji Trophy match for two years.

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